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Florida's 2023-24 Record Graduation Rate Shows Continued Success of Public Schools

With the recent release of Florida’s 2023-2024 graduation rates by the Florida Department of Education, I want to take a moment to congratulate each of you on the tremendous academic success in your district. Florida has achieved a record high graduation rate of 89.7% for the 2023-24 academic year, marking a 1.7 percentage point increase from the previous year.

While we celebrate the incredible achievements of our students, and teachers, whose hard work, dedication, and passion have brought academic successes across the state, it is truly a reflection of the collective effort of all who value and contribute to the public school system.

Superintendents are quick to recognize the many stakeholders that play a part in this  accomplishment, and I thank you for being the leader in your community.

This is a remarkable accomplishment – a testament to the dedication, hard work, and power of teamwork. Congratulations on this well-deserved success!

Yours in education,

Bill

With the start of 2025, FADSS will be adding a new feature titled Innovative District Initiatives. Recognizing that there are impactful processes, programs and initiatives yielding exceptional academic results going on in every district in Florida, FADSS wants to showcase these ongoing successes.

FADSS will be sending out a detailed email to superintendents outlining specific educational topics/areas and asking each district to provide at least one amazing program/process/initiative that is enhancing academic achievement in your district. 

In the meantime, we are pleased to kick off this segment highlighting Lake County School District’s Lincoln Park Education Center, an innovative initiative designed to address the diverse needs of students and their community workforce.

The Lincoln Park Education Center is an innovative initiative designed to address the diverse needs of students. Opened in 2024, LPEC operates a double-shift academic day with face-to-face instruction, providing students with a flexible class schedule. LPEC currently serves about 70 high school students in its morning session and plans to launch the second shift in August 2025 to serve another 80 students. The center’s flexible scheduling and smaller class sizes ensure that students who face challenges in traditional school settings have access to quality education and support. Students who work late in the evening, can opt to attend school earlier in the day, while students who choose to work mornings can schedule second-shift classes.

Our “Why?”



In August of 2022, Lake County high school principals met with the Superintendent to discuss growing concerns about student attendance. A survey showed that approximately 40 percent of Lake County students were working part-time jobs. These students were often arriving late to school or leaving school early because of their work schedules. Students expressed that making money and the need or desire to work had replaced school as their top priority.

It became clear that it was essential for us to provide alternative pathways for students to earn a standard high school diploma, and the idea behind the Lincoln Park Education Center (LPEC) was born. In July 2023, the school district closed the old Clermont Elementary School and built a new K-8 school nearby. Clermont Elementary, located in one of the county’s fastest growing areas, was the perfect location for the Lincoln Park Education Center. The site would provide easy access for many of our students and it would give one of our partners, Lake Technical College, a much needed presence in South Lake.

Addressing Student Needs

Traditional school models don’t always accommodate every student. Some face barriers like rigid schedules or challenging family circumstances that deprioritize education. LPEC aims to bridge these gaps not only by offering a double shift model, but also by partnering with Lake-Sumter State College and Lake Technical College to offer on-site academic and workforce dual enrollment programs with convenient student access. These partnerships will ensure that students can seamlessly participate in academic courses, career pathways, and dual enrollment opportunities without the need to travel off campus. Additionally, LPEC provides a range of services to support student success including credit recovery programs, academic and career counseling tailored to individual goals, and an option to graduate with an 18-credit diploma or a four-year, 24-credit diploma, with dual enrollment credits. Both options ensure that every student has the tools and opportunities needed to thrive.

Workforce Dual Enrollment

Lake Technical College is in the process of renovating the school’s old gym to house the following career certificate programs:

·        HVAC

·        Plumbing

·        Electrician

In the same space, Lake Sumter State College will operate a two-year Associate of Science degree program in Engineering Technology.

As funding becomes available, Lake Technical College hopes to add additional workforce programs to include Dental Assisting, Patient Care Technician, Paramedic, Practical Nursing and Baking and Pastry Arts.

High school students who attend LPEC will have onsite access to workforce programs giving them the opportunity to earn industry certifications within one of the school's high wage, high demand job fields.

Transforming Teaching and Learning

As we implement and refine the school’s systems and structures, we will continue to learn and adapt, ensuring that our approach evolves to meet the needs of our students, local businesses and the community. Career Source, Lake Economic Development and The Lake Economic Area Development Partnership (LEADS), are just a few of the school’s community partners working together to connect students and employers to ensure a highly skilled workforce in Lake County and beyond.

The Lincoln Park Education Center represents a bold step forward in education for Lake County. With students demonstrating higher attendance rates and finding academic success within a supportive environment.

Just Over a Month to FADSS Spring Conference

We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone at FADSS 2025 Spring Conference in Orlando beginning on February 19th at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld. As a reminder the last day for Superintendent registration is January 27, 2025. 

As always, the Spring Leadership Conference will provide plenty of time for networking and peer group discussions, as well as hearing about some of the innovative practices in Florida school districts. We will also hear from three of our districts about their approaches to addressing student chronic absenteeism that are yielding positive results. We will round out the conference on Friday with a great speaker and author (more about him in our next newsletter).

This week Diana and I attended the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), learning new things and talking to great educators from across Florida and the US. It is no surprise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a key topic at FETC. AI is already integrated into so many aspects of everyday lives, whether individuals are aware of it or not. Clearly everything we have heard and seen through FETC presentations indicates that there will be a continued and rapid integration of AI into our everyday lives, as well as our schools. And of course, AI in K12 Education will be a featured topic of discussion during FADSS 2025 Spring Conference and in future conferences.

To that point, we look forward to welcoming Dr. Maya Israel, associate professor of Educational Technology and Computer Science Education in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida to speak to us on the topic of AI. Dr. Israel is the director of both CSEveryone: The Kenneth C. Griffin CS for All Education initiative and the Creative Technology Research Lab.

Dr. Israel's research focuses on K-12 computer science teacher education and strategies for supporting students with disabilities and other struggling learners' meaningful engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with emphases on computational thinking, computer science education, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). She is also a leader on the NSF National AI Institute of Inclusive Intelligent Technologies for Education (INVITE) grant. There is no doubt Dr. Israel will provide us with a solid grounding on this topic, which will help us all to better approach and make informed decisions on this subject.

If you have any questions regarding conference programming, please contact Katrina Figgett and for registration portal questions, please contact Renae Wallace. 

Getting Ready for the 2025 Florida Legislative Session

With the elections and holidays behind us, the Legislature kicked into gear this week as it prepares for the start of the 2025 Florida legislative session on March 4, 2025. This week and next mark the second and third committee weeks (6 total), which usually focus on departmental updates from the various state agencies and discussions of topics of interest for the committees. These discussions often let us know where legislative leaders are focusing their attention and what topics are likely to be part of priority legislation. 

For example, the House PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee received updates from the Department of Education this week on a variety of financial topics, and the Chair of that subcommittee indicated that they will be taking a deeper look at several of those areas in the coming weeks. Next week, the subcommittee will exam the current methodology for funding scholarship accounts through the districts and the impact this has on district finances and operations. FADSS is working to bring three or four superintendents to Tallahassee to engage in that discussion with the subcommittee.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s Education Pre-K – 12 Committee held a lengthy discussion on autism this week, while the House’s Student Academic Success Subcommittee held a panel discussion with Superintendent Vazquez (Orange County) and two principals from Orange and Pasco about recent legislation and local efforts to restrict cell phone use in schools. This does not guarantee that the Legislature will pass bills on autism, cell phones, or the way vouchers are funded in the FEFP, but it does let us know where their attention is.

Towards the end of the committee process, that focus will shift towards hearing some of the higher priority bills, most of which have not yet been filed. At the end of day on January 14, 2025, less than 200 bills had been filed, which is roughly 10-15% of the number of bills filed in a typical year. Thus, there is still a long way to go, but these opening weeks in January provide us with valuable insight before most of the bills are filed in February. Other key indicators over the next two to three weeks will be the Governor’s proposed budget, which should be released around February 1^st; President Trump’s initial actions after taking office January 20^th; and the scope and focus of the special session called by the Governor for the week of January 27^th.  

As always, FADSS will do its part to keep Superintendents informed and involved in the legislative process.